News

#NewEra in emergency care at Northumbria goes viral on video

Wednesday, 25 March, 2015

Innovative changes taking place in emergency care at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust have this week gone viral with over a quarter of a million people reached across the UK and beyond via social media.

A high-profile public awareness campaign was launched this month as healthcare leaders work to ensure people understand the changes taking place when the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital opens its door to patients in June.

This week, a new video starring emergency care staff from across the Trust’s hospitals in Hexham, North Tyneside and Wansbeck has been launched on the campaign microsite www.northumbria.nhs.uk/emergency and shared with over 265,000 people thanks to hundreds of local people, regional leaders, as well as high profile NHS personalities, who have signed up via social media to show their support for the changes taking place in June.

The #NewEra in emergency care video stars emergency medicine consultants, matrons and emergency nurse practitioners, as well as the Trust’s medical director Mr David Evans, who together proudly tell the story about the new model of emergency care being introduced at Northumbria Healthcare.

People who have signed up via social media to support the new model of emergency care being introduced by Northumbria Healthcare include Sir David Nicholson, former chief executive of the NHS, Dean Royles, former chief executive of NHS Employers, Anne Cooper a senior nurse working at NHS England, as well as the North East Chamber of Commerce.

Dr Chris BiggIn, emergency medicine consultant and clinical director of emergency care at Northumbria Healthcare, stars in the video. He said: “There is a genuine feeling of excitement in the air now amongst our teams as we look forward to opening the doors of the new Northumbria hospital in June. Together we have been working on this new model of emergency care for over a decade and to see all of that work come to fruition for the benefit of our patients in June will be a truly special moment for everyone involved.

“Our new video captures just a glimpse of the enthusiasm amongst our clinical teams as we all gear up for our new way of working which will improve emergency care for the vast population we serve across Northumberland and North Tyneside.”

The result of ten years’ work led by clinical teams, the Northumbria Specialist Emergency Care Hospital is the first purpose-built facility of its kind in England dedicated to providing emergency care with consultants physically on site 24/7, as well as specialists in a range of conditions also available seven days a week.

The new model of emergency care means patients from across Northumberland and North Tyneside will get to see the right specialist for their condition quickly which will not only save more lives but is widely proven to improve clinical outcomes.

People with less serious conditions, but who still require urgent care, will continue to receive treatment at 24-hour walk-in services at the trust’s general hospitals in Hexham, North Tyneside and Wansbeck. These walk-in patients are expected to be seen more quickly in the future as staff will not be distracted or called away to treat more serious cases.

A further wave of high-profile promotional activity will continue in May including information for every household across Northumberland and North Tyneside about the emergency care changes coming in June, and how to access urgent and emergency care services.

The new model of emergency care at Northumbria Healthcare is in line with the vision recently outlined in the ‘NHS five year forward view’ and has been endorsed by Sir Bruce Keogh, medical director of the NHS in England, who, as part of his Urgent and Emergency Care Review, is calling for ‘patients to receive the right treatment at the right place’, with consistent levels oF senior staffing in order to maximise chances of survival and a good recovery for patients.